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1996 Tracker strange electrical issue
#8
The head lamps dead, make trouble shooting this very easy, imagine engine gone , drive line gone, all things related, gone.
just a car, battery, harness, frame and 2 head lamps and that simple,( a beauty in its own right of simplicity(my news jeep car has computer in its place (H3LL)
but 1996 they did add at least 1 relay to head lamps for hazards or DRL.
the battery neg, goes to starter mount bolt, top. tight it must be,!!!!!
the battery minus is also grounded to the body, next to the battery, this ground also runs (vast things)
checking ohm, only uses .001 amps of current, head lamps draw 10, starter uses 500. so ground measure great with no current but with full current they do not.
that is why we use voltage drop to find bad current paths (wires and connectors)
that is why we can use head lights on and draw 5 each for 10 full amps of current.
forget codes, this ECU does not report, battery loss like my jeep, nor do I need to have it tell me a code for that, after all the head lamps are dead. that is a code (max) unto itself.
ECU is not the issue ever here,
headlamps dead, and starter dead is the issue and ECU does not do anything for starter nor head lamps.

i have only 1 question, for intermittent.
have Dmm ready when it fails, no electrical person ever is with out one.
when failed, use the meter to find the voltage drop.
you will find it on the ground or the PLUS path to power battery plus.
one of the 2 will be wrong, or find the battery fails, intermittently, as the are loath to do.. (id day 1/2 old batteries do that)

head lamps go dim or out (starter dead)
check battery first. at the battery posts, across, them, then across the 2 battery terminals, 12vdc with head lamps dim.
the from battery (dmm leads) from battery post neg to engine metal, 0.5v max. 0v is best.
if not 0v, or spec. 0.5v, the grounds are bad.
ok 0v.
now check minus battery lug to the fuses on the right (left facing)fender, all must read 12vdc. if not this fuse box is bad. (common on all sidekicks
those checks above are live failures, using a DMM. under load (head lamps ON)
btw the head lamps on this car are hot all the time even keys in pocket, and the head lamp switch only grounds the headlamps to turn them on, no magic, here, no computers, works just like 1950 chevy, dirt simple, fix the head lamp path with both go dead.

ops I forgot to say, sorry, does your car have DRL, day light running lamps (DRL) always on, like cars from canada have by law?
off my bad power page
is this bad?
http://www.fixkick.com/my96-16v/battery-ground1.jpg

this
http://www.fixkick.com/my96-16v/dizzy-gnd1w.jpg


http://www.fixkick.com/my96-16v/firewallground1.jpg
and this.
http://www.fixkick.com/my96-16v/ECU-ground1.jpg

if the head lamps and starter go dead and the 1 huge battery neg lug is at the top of starter mount bolt g103, http://www.fixkick.com/specs/G103.jpg
then Id say, you lost the PLUS feed not the ground feed after all the starter is hugely grounded at g103, no better ground in the whole car,
That means check voltage in the right fender fuse box next. for 12vdc there head lamps on, i bet its missing? or 0v
http://www.fixkick.com/fuse-box1-failure2.jpg
here is the HL schematic.

first power distribution 8a-10 vol 2. (all links below are out of WAYBACK MACHINE ,sorry, the original guy lost them. (ACKFAQ)
https://web.archive.org/web/201011191039...10_pdf.htm
see that first fuse box, all wires there must be hot, 12v. at point of failure
Here is the non DRL car HL schematic.
its EU drawing but is almost accurate.

http://www.fixkick.com/ECU/1996/Full96%2...-power.pdf

your car has what transmission, can I assume 4wd. (this gets me the correct schematic car.
diagnosing the a/t automatic, PRNLD for dead starters is a pain. super pain.
but not head lamps if non DRL lamps. in car, do running lamps run full time?
or what about parking lamps (aka. tails)
when you click the head lamp switch 1 click that is park, are parks dead all 4 corners?
then blinks dead, then hazards dead.

park lamps on this car are also tricky if DRL.

http://www.fixkick.com/ECU/1996/Full96%2...-power.pdf
http://www.fixkick.com
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RE: 1996 Tracker strange electrical issue - by fixkick - 07-31-2018, 09:52 PM

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